Warning on dole figures

ALICIA NALLY CAIRNS’ improving employment landscape is behind a steadily declining number of jobseekers receiving Centrelink payments, but the region is not out of the woods yet.

The number of people receiving the Newstart allowance was 11,844 in December 2018, down about 2000 from 13,201 in June 2017.

That’s about 7.8 per cent of the population not working.

Pete Faulkner, who collates the Conus/CBC Staff Selection Trend Jobseeker data, said while the regions were doing better employment-wise than Greater Brisbane, there was still some way to go.

His analysis shows while more people are in work, those jobs are part-time positions.

“With the Australian Bureau of Statistics trend unemployment rate for the state at 6.2 per cent, our own series shows trend unemployment in Greater Brisbane at 6.4 per cent (up from 5.7 per cent a year earlier) while in the rest of Queensland it is now 5.9 per cent (down 0.3 per cent,” he said.

“In our own region we see the Cairns trend unemployment rate drop to 5 per cent.

“The region has added 3100 to trend employment over the course of the past 12 months although all of this has been in part-time positions (+5600) with full-time down 2400.

“Over the course of the year trend participation has re- mained largely unchanged in Cairns so the net result is certainly a positive one.

“However, we would note that some recently very low original unemployment rates, if reversed in coming months, could well see the trend unemployment rate move back closer to the 6 per cent level.”

The latest Department of Social Services data for jobseekers in Cairns shows a small uptick in the total number of jobseekers, in contrast with the drop in benefits. Cairns now sits at 8896, up from 8833.

“This would suggest ... the unemployment rate of 5 per cent in December is likely to be revised somewhat higher when we get January’s data later this month,” Mr Faulkner said.